The most vital element largely absent for a Pakistani student applying to the US or the UK is research
LAHORE: Since I have experienced the process of applying for graduate studies abroad, I think there is some vital knowledge that Pakistani alumni from overseas postgraduate universities should share with their juniors to help out their fellow youngsters.
The most vital element largely absent for a Pakistani student applying to the US or the UK is research. Universities abroad are heavily interested in one’s ability to research and to offer a new contribution to an existing field. Pakistani universities, by stark unfortunate contrast, do encourage projects and group work, but the ingenuity and originality that postgraduate programmes are looking for does not convincingly deliver. If professors were instead properly assigning longitudinal research projects to their students, not only would admissions come easier, but also so would scholarships and funds. The ability to research is the main trait that these programmes search for and hope to refine in their students.
Pakistani universities must make greater strides to incorporate proper and complete research projects in the curriculum of courses, regardless of what the undergraduate degree actually is. The capability to research speaks volumes in every academic field, be it medicine or world history.
After all, graduate school is training in research. It is for people who love research, academia and teaching for their own sake and for the difference they may be able to make in the world. It is not for people who simply want more undergraduate courses or the ones in a hurry to get a real job. The eventual goal of many postgraduate students is to get a job as a college professor or, perhaps, in industrial or government research. Some in technical subjects go on to start companies, but many just do it because they like it. Thus, research during one’s undergraduate programme must be clearly demonstrated.
Rabiya Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2017.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
